Wulf the Saxon: A Story of the Norman Conquest

by G. A. Henty

  CHAPTER X.

  PORTHWYN.

  There was a short halt to enable the band to quench their thirst at alittle rivulet that trickled down the centre of the valley; then theyprepared to continue their march, Wulf impressing upon them the necessityfor moving as silently as possible.

  "If we come upon a village of any size," he said, "we must avoid it. Themain point is to capture a native, and find out exactly where we are."

  After walking for an hour they came suddenly upon a hut. It stood in acleared patch of ground; a small herd of goats were browsing round, andsome smoke curled up from a hole in the roof. Wulf halted his men.

  "Beorn, you and I and Osgod and one of the interpreters had best go inalone; there are not likely to be more than one or two men within, and itwill be well at any rate that our numbers should not be known."

  Before advancing, however, he told the band to surround the clearing. "Letno one escape," he said; "it would cost us our lives did one get away totell of our being here. See, too, that you bring down two or three of thegoats. Our meat is nearly exhausted, and it is well to replenish ourstore."

  After waiting until the men were in their places, Wulf ran forward acrossthe open ground with his three companions. There was no door to the hut,and on entering it they saw that its only occupant was a decrepit oldwoman. She gave a cry of dismay at the entrance of the strangers.

  "Tell her not to be alarmed," Wulf said to the interpreter.

  "We do not desire to do her any harm. Now ask her if she lives here byherself," he went on, when the interpreter had spoken to the old woman.

  "She lives here with her two sons," the man said; "they are away. Therewere beacon-fires on the hills last evening, and they went out. She doesnot know when they will return."

  "Ask her how far it is to Porthwyn."

  The answer was most satisfactory. "It is but three miles away, my lord. Itlies in the valley of which this is a branch."

  "That is good news indeed, Beorn," Wulf said. "The boy led us in the rightdirection, perhaps because he thought that if he did not do so we shouldperceive it and tax him with treachery. But it is more likely that hewished to lead us so close that he could, when he escaped, carry the newsof our being in the neighbourhood, in time for the Welshmen to surround andcut us off before we could return. As she says that the beacon-fires werelighted in the evening he can have lost no time, and the country must bearoused. I wish we had the whole force here."

  "What shall we do with this old crone?" Beorn said. "It would never do torisk her giving an alarm, and though she looks feeble she might be able toget down to Porthwyn."

  "We will tie her securely, Beorn; we can't hurt the poor old creature. Hersons are no doubt out with the Welsh bands hunting for us; but they willreturn here sooner or later, so that no harm will come to her."

  By his orders Osgod securely bound the old woman with a rope he found inthe hut, and then leaving her they went outside and called upon the men toclose in. Eight of the goats were killed, and were then cut up and dividedamong the men. After a consultation Wulf and Beorn agreed that instead offollowing the valley down, where they might meet with other huts, or even agood-sized village, they had best keep along on the hillside, just insidethe line of trees, as in that way they would come out high up on the sideof the main valley, and probably obtain a good view of the fortalice.

  In single file they made their way among the trees, and in an hour thevalley that they were in opened considerably, and through the trees theysaw a large village at their feet. A quarter of a mile farther and theystood on the side of a wide valley. There were numerous flocks and herds tobe seen grazing in it, and four or five villages could be made out; theirattention, however, was chiefly directed to the object of their journey.Some three hundred feet below the spot where they stood a rock jutted outfrom the hillside, and extended some five or six hundred feet into thevalley. Its sides were perpendicular save where it stood out from the hill.Here a strong wall some forty feet high ran across it; two square towersstood at the angles, but there was no gateway visible. The wall wascontinued right round the top of the rock, which was crossed by two otherwalls each defended by flanking towers. The castle itself stood at theextremity of the rock, and was a strong and massive-looking building. Themen were all ordered to lie down as soon as the castle was visible betweenthe trees, and among these Wulf and Beorn followed by Osgod movedcautiously, until they reached a spot whence they could obtain through thefoliage a full view of the building.

  "It is a formidable place," said Beorn. "The chief who first plantedhimself here knew what he was doing. Yes. I should fancy from the look ofit the castle at the end was built first, then gradually the walls wereadded until the whole rock was inclosed. This bit nearest to us isevidently an addition during the last few years. You can see that by thecolour of the stone. You see the other two walls have gateways in themwhile this has none. I should say until this was built the entrance to thecastle was along the neck, but they must have got some other way now, andso shut it up altogether. How on earth can they get in?"

  "Certainly not at the sides," Wulf said, "for they are as nearperpendicular as possible. It must be at the other end of the rock, whichwe can't see. It may slope a little more gradually there, and they may havecut a zigzag road up. Suppose we climb the hill behind us, till we gethigh enough to see over the trees and get a complete view of the valley.There is no fear of our being noticed. We are a good five hundred feetabove it now, and even if anyone did see us up there they would take us fortwo herdsmen. Of course we will leave our shields and weapons behind us."

  On attaining a spot from which a clear view of the whole valley could beobtained, Wulf said:

  "There, Beorn, do you see the hill juts out into the plain on the right,half a mile from the castle, and is wooded to its foot. I think if we wereto make our way down there we should be able to obtain a view of the faceof the rock below the castle without leaving the shelter of the trees."Beorn agreed that it was worth trying, and they returned to the men,rearmed themselves, and spoke to Osgod.

  "We are going to reconnoitre, Osgod, and may be an hour away. As we shallnot leave the forest there is no danger, and even were we seen we can climbthe hill again as fast as any Welshman can follow us. Do you keep an eye onthe castle, but do not stir until we return even if you hear shouts. I haveno doubt that we shall be able to rejoin you, and it is most important thateven if they do make us out they should have no reason for supposing thatthere is any force behind us." After half an hour's walking Beorn and Wulffound themselves at the edge of the wood in the valley.

  "There is the road, you see," Wulf exclaimed. "It goes straight up thatgradual slope to the bottom of the rock, then it makes two zigzags to theedge of that point that juts out a little, whence there is a bridge thrownacross a gap to the point where there is a turret. I can't see it beyondthat. I should think they must have driven a tunnel from there right upinto the castle, for you see there are fifty feet of perpendicular rockabove that turret. In case of attack, of course, they would cut away thebridge, and it would be next to impossible to throw another across. Theycould overwhelm any force attempting it with stones from above, besidessweeping the zigzag road below."

  Beorn agreed that the place was absolutely impregnable on that side, andthat it could only be attacked from the hillside, and by carrying the wallsin succession.

  "Well, there is nothing more to see," Wulf said, "so we may as well return.You see there is a large village nestling down there just at the foot ofthe rock. We could not see it from where we were before.

  "Well, Osgod, have you seen anything going on in the castle?"

  "No, my lord, everything has been very quiet It seems to me that there arevery few men about for such a strong place."

  "No doubt most of them are out in pursuit of us, Osgod; we know that thecountry was roused by the beacons, and that there must be a big forcesomewhere in the hills. I only hope they wont find Oswald and Edred, or Ifear it will go hard with them. Th
e levies fight well when they have thehousecarls with them, but by themselves and in a strange country I amafraid they would lose heart. Now, Beorn, I am going down to the wall onthis side. We can see that there is no sentry on it, and I want to find outif there is any other defence besides what we can see. It is very importantto know that, as we agreed that this is the side from which the attack mustbe made."

  Descending among the trees Wulf cautiously approached the wall. He found onnearing it that a perpendicular cut some thirty feet wide and twenty feetdeep had been made across the rock. It stretched from the foot of oneflanking tower to the foot of the other, the wall between them being someten feet from its edge. Having ascertained this he returned to Beorn.Having told him what he had seen, he sat looking at the castle.

  "What are you thinking of, Wulf?" Beorn asked. "I suppose we had betterstop where we are till nightfall and then make eastward."

  "I am thinking, in the first place, that it would cost a great number oflives to take that place by assault."

  "That it would," Beorn agreed. "We have seen no place of anything likeequal strength in Wales, or indeed anywhere else."

  "There is no doubt about that," Wulf agreed. "If well defended it ought tohold out for weeks, for when we have taken that wall in front of us only athird of the work has been done. In the next place, I am thinking thatLlewellyn and the greater part of his garrison are away in the hills."

  Beorn nodded.

  "And that being so, it seems to me that the best plan will be to take itourselves."

  Beorn looked at his friend to see if he were serious, but there was nosmile on Wulf's face.

  "Do you really mean it, Wulf?"

  "Yes I mean it, certainly. What is to prevent our taking it? There maynever be such a good opportunity again. We have not seen a dozen men on thewalls, and I don't suppose there are fifty there altogether. But even ifthere are a hundred, they will have no chance with our men if we are onceamong them. You see the gates through those inner walls are open, and onceover this first one the place will be all open to us."

  "That is true enough, but how in the world are we to climb that wall?"

  "That is what I am puzzling over, Beorn. You see there is no time to lose,for Llewellyn and his men may be back to-night. If they find Oswald's partythis morning they will return at once, if they don't they may not be backtill the morning. But we cannot count on that, what has to be done must bedone at once."

  He sat thinking a little longer. "We must cut down a couple of trees andmake a ladder, Beorn. The pine-trees grew very close together where wepassed through them a quarter of a mile before we got here, and were veryslender for their height. We have no axes or we could fell a couple of themin a few minutes; but even if we had them, we should not dare use them, forthe chances are that the villagers are forbidden to cut down trees anywherenear the castle, and the sound might bring people up from below to see whowas chopping. I was thinking of burning two of them down, but in this dryweather the flames might run up them, and we should get a blaze that wouldbring all the villagers up here." He beckoned to Osgod, and when he came uptold him that Beorn and he had agreed to try and take the place.

  "That is good," Osgod said joyfully. "I have been thinking of it, but I didnot see how you were to climb that wall."

  "We must cut down two young pine-trees, but we must not chop them down."

  "It would take a long time with our knives," Osgod said doubtfully. "It iseasy enough to cut through a pole three inches thick, but when it comes tonine or ten it is a different matter."

  "Then we must cut down small ones and tie them together. Bring twenty menat once with you, Osgod, let the rest lie quiet, the less movement there isthe better."

  As soon as the men were ready Wulf led them back to the point where thepine-trees grew, then he selected eight of the tallest and slightest. Theywere about three inches through at the foot, and were, he judged, at leastan inch and a half at twenty feet from the ground. Two men were set to workat each tree, and in less than half an hour the eight trees were on theground. The branches were then lopped off, and four of the stems were cutacross five-and-twenty feet from the foot. The thin ends were then placedtogether so as to overlap five feet. There was no difficulty aboutlashings, as thongs were cut off the bottom of the men's leather jerkins.The joint was made stronger by a light pole fifteen feet long being firmlylashed across the junction. Thus the two poles for the ladder forty-fivefeet long were ready for use. It needed only to lash cross-pieces forsteps, and in little over an hour from the time that work was begun theladder was complete. From the other young trees two ladders, eachtwenty-five feet long, had been constructed in the meantime, and the wholewere then raised and carried back to the place where the band was lying.

  "Now, men," Wulf said, "we are going to take this castle at once. I shouldwait until nightfall were it not that I fear the return of the Welsh, butas they may come back at any time there is not a minute to be lost. Now leteach understand his work. The short ladders are to enable us to cross a cuttwenty feet deep they have made through the rock; when we get over this wecan plant the long ladder against the wall. As soon as we gain the topevery man must lie down and crawl along over those who have preceded him.If we are seen before a few of us are on the top of the wall we shall fail,because they will have time to give the alarm, and shut the inner gates.

  "So far we have seen no one go in or out of the courts between these walls,and have every hope that we shall find no one there. I expect they areplaces where the cattle are kept in case of siege. Our great danger is inthe chance of our being noticed by men on other parts of the walls or onthe castle. However, as far as we can see their attention is entirelydirected the other way, for they are no doubt on the look-out for news fromtheir chief or for his return. My intention is that all shall gain the topof the wall before a movement is made, but if an alarm is given, those whohave got to the top are at once to follow us down the staircase into thecourtyard and run at full speed to the gate. Not a moment's halt is to bemade there; we must run on to the next gate and there defend ourselvesuntil the rest come to our aid. They will be taken so completely bysurprise that, even if we are but four or five, we can hold the gate untilthe rest come up, and each man, as soon as he gains the top of the ladder,must run on at full speed to our aid. Cut down all with arms in theirhands, but do not hurt women or children. Tell off six men, Osgod, to carrythe ladder and place it against the wall, and to be the first to follow us.Let the others follow in the order in which they stand in rank."

  They made their way down through the trees. As soon as they reached the cutone short ladder was lowered, and the other was handed down and placedagainst the opposite side of the cut. The end of the long ladder was thenlowered, and it was swung over and the upper end placed against the wall.Six men then ascended the short ladder, and raised the long one until itstood on the rock at the foot of the castle-wall.

  "Now, Beorn, do you mount first and I will follow you."

  "You should go first," Beorn said, "but I will do as you tell me."

  As soon as Beorn was half-way up Wulf began to follow him, saying to Osgodand the men, "Keep the same distance apart. Do not let more than two be onthe ladder at once whatever happens inside, if it were to break it would befatal to us all." As soon as he gained the top Wulf threw himself down bythe side of Beorn, and lay there watching the men on the other walls and onthe summit of the castle. Osgod and four men had joined them when Wulfnoticed a sudden stir and heard a shout. He leapt to his feet.

  "Follow quickly, but be careful of the ladder," he called to those below;then he dashed along the wall to the top of the staircase, and closelyfollowed by the others ran down and on through the gate in the next wall.Here some five or six men were asleep in its shade, while some women werestanding in front of some low huts which bordered the yard on either side.They gazed in astonishment for a moment at the seven men who appeared sosuddenly from the outer yard, and then set up a shrill cry of alarm.Without heeding them Wulf ran
on to the next gateway. Just as he reached ita number of men came running up from the other side. "Osgod, do you andAlfred cover our rear while we keep these men in front at bay."

  The five men held the gate without difficulty against the Welsh who firstarrived, for these, at the shout of one of their comrades that men wereclimbing the wall, had run down only with their knives, and could donothing against the Saxon shields and long swords. Presently, others withspears and axes ran up, but the two young thanes and their three followersstill kept them back, for in the narrow gateway they could not be attackedby more than their own number. Amid the yells of the Welsh Wulf could hearnothing of what was passing behind them, and he was delighted when he heardthe voice of Osgod in his ear.

  "There are eight here now, Wulf; we have finished with the Welshmen in thecourtyard, so you are clear behind. Our men are coming down from the wallfast. In five minutes we shall have the whole band here. Now let me have aturn;" and he stepped forward and took the place of one of the Saxons whostaggered back with a javelin in his shoulder.

  Every moment added to the number of the Saxons.

  "Let me know when they are all up," Wulf said to one of those behind him,as he cut down a Welshman who sprang at him with uplifted knife. The attackwas growing weaker, as their assailants saw that instead of five men theyhad now to face a considerable number, and Wulf had difficulty inrestraining his men.

  "Keep back!" he shouted; "we must wait until we are all up, and then drivethem headlong before us and follow them into the castle. If they have oncetime to shut the doors there we shall have a troublesome task." As he spokehe yielded his place in the front rank to one of his followers, and turnedto see how matters stood behind. "Are they all up?" he asked.

  "The last man told me that there were six more to come, my lord."

  "Then we need wait no longer. Now, Beorn, all is ready--charge!" and with arush the Saxons swept through the gate, carrying the Welsh before them andhewing down the front ranks. In an instant the defenders turned and fled,but the Saxons pressed hard on their heels. Some of the Welsh ran up thestaircases to the walls, and many of the Saxons would have followed them,but at Wulf's "To the castle, to the castle, we can deal with themafterwards!" they followed him at once. On the steps up to the gateway ofthe castle a desperate struggle was going on among the Welsh themselves.

  Seeing the Saxons pressing on the rear of the fugitives, those within thecastle strove to shut the door, but strove in vain, as the terror-strickenmen outside tried to force their way in. The two young thanes, with Osgodand many of their followers, cut their way through the struggling mass andreached the door. Those trying to shut it had already seen the hopelessnessof the endeavour, and had fled into the hall beyond, in which a number ofterrified women were wailing and shrieking. As Wulf burst in he shouted tothe Welsh, "Throw down your arms and surrender, and your lives shall bespared" but his words were not understood, and as the Welsh never gavequarter themselves they had no thought of quarter being offered to them.

  The women ceased screaming and broke into a death chant, many of themseizing weapons from the walls, and joining the men in a last desperateeffort to drive back the Saxons.

  For a moment those who had entered had difficulty in resisting thedesperate attack, but as others poured in they advanced, and although Wulfcontinued to shout, "Spare all who throw down their arms," his orders wereof no avail, for the Welsh continued to fight desperately until the lastfell under the Saxon swords, most of the women, who fought with evengreater fury than the men, sharing their fate. As soon as the struggle wasover Wulf ordered Osgod to take eight or ten men, to find the entrance tothe tunnel leading down to the road on the face of the cliff, and to guardit against any attack from without. Then, through his interpreters, hecalled to the Welshmen on the walls that their lives should be spared ifthey would lay down their arms. He was answered by derisive shouts and ashower of javelins.

  "We should lose a good many men in storming those two narrow staircases,Beorn. There are but twenty or thirty of them, but that is enough to defendsuch steep approaches. Let us take twenty men up to the top of the castle,from there they can hurl javelins down at them, and they will soon see thatresistance is useless."

  They ascended the stairs, but paused at the end of the room over the hallwhich had been the scene of the conflict. An aged woman, whose dress showedher high rank, was seated on a settle; beside her was a white-headedharper, while two little children, a boy and a girl, stood at her knee andlooked fearlessly at the intruders.

  Wulf despatched one of the men down to the hall to bring up theinterpreter. As soon as he arrived Wulf doffed his helmet and steppedforward.

  "Ask who this lady is and who are these children."

  At a gesture from the old lady the harper answered:

  "This is my mistress, Gweneth, the mother of Prince Llewellyn ap Rhys;these are his children. In his name she bids you defiance. You have takenhis castle, but he will know how to avenge her and his children."

  "I have no desire or intention of acting with any disrespect, still less ofinjuring either your mistress or the children of Llewellyn," Wulf replied,when this was translated to him. "My friend and I are Saxon thanes, whohave been forced to leave our homes and to embark on this war in order toput a stop to the ravages committed across the border--the burning of townsand villages, and the massacre of men, women, and children by yourcountrymen. Llewellyn ap Rhys has brought this misfortune upon himself, anddid we render him motherless and childless, it would be but the fate thathe and his followers have inflicted upon many an Englishman. But we do notmake war upon women or children. Prisoners, of course, you must be, but beassured of honourable treatment. None shall enter this room save with yourpermission, and you can have your female attendants to serve you as usual."

  While the interpreter was repeating his speech Wulf and Beorn left theroom, and with the men ascended to the top of the castle, where they werejoined by the interpreter, who addressed the Welsh on the walls. Thesereplied with shouts of defiance, and a volley of javelins was poured downupon them. Three or four were struck, the rest, seeing that all hope wasgone, rapidly gathered in a body at the head of the staircase leading fromthe wall.

  "They are going to run down," Beorn exclaimed, and leaning over the parapetshouted to the Saxons in the courtyard below to stand on their guard.

  A minute later the Welsh rushed down, each intent on killing at least onefoe before he died. The Saxons' weapons and discipline were, however, toomuch for them; but they fought until the last, not one of them throwingdown his weapon or asking for quarter.

  "They are brave men. I would that we were not forced to slay them; but itis their choosing and not ours, Beorn, and if they would but leave us aloneI am sure that nobody would wish to interfere with these wild countrymen."

  "What is the next thing to be done, Wulf?"

  "I should say let us turn all the women and children, save the old lady'sattendants, out of the castle, they would only be a trouble to us. Then wemust examine the store of provisions, plant sentries and cut away thatbridge, or, at any rate, cut away so much of it that a blow or two with anaxe will suffice to send it down. We must not forget to haul up ourladders. Llewellyn and his men may be back at any moment. Let us go downtogether to that turret we saw on the face of the rock."

  Orders were at once given, and the women and children collected and told toleave the castle. They were allowed to carry away with them some eight orten men who were found to be still living. They went for the most part insilence, but some of the elder women poured out voluble curses on theSaxons. Beorn and Wulf had already gone down to the turret. There was avery strong gateway in the courtyard, beyond this a tunnel sloping steeplydown, eight feet high and four feet wide, had been cut in the solid rock.Following it they emerged upon a platform, principally occupied by theturret. The path led through a strong gateway under this on to the woodenbridge. Here Osgod with his ten men had taken their station.

  "The women and children and a fe
w wounded will be coming down directly,Osgod. As soon as they have passed do you set to work with your men andpull up the planking of the bridge, all save a single plank; loosen that,so that you can if necessary at once cast it down after the rest. If yousee the Welshmen pouring up the road, throw it over at once without waitingfor further orders, then close the gate and take your station in theturret."

  "We are all getting very hungry, master. We have eaten nothing thismorning, and fighting sharpens the appetite."

  "I had forgotten all about it, Osgod. I will see that food is cooked atonce, and will send down a portion for you and your men, and some tankardsof whatever liquor we can find in the cellars. We are going to make anexamination of them at once."

  Returning to the courtyard, they told off a body of men to search thecellars and granaries, and were glad to find that there was an ample storeof grain to last for months, together with large quantities of ale and afew casks of wine.

  "So far all is well," Beorn said, "but would it not be prudent to send offat once to Gurth, to let him know that though we are masters of the castleat present, we may in a few hours be surrounded by a swarm of angryWelshmen?"

  "That certainly is most desirable," Wulf agreed. "The question is, who arewe to send? It would be a terribly dangerous enterprise. Even now there area score of men from the village watching our movements from the wood above.At any rate we must wait until nightfall."

  Four sentries were posted on the wall by which they had ascended, as aftermaking a circuit of the place, this was they agreed the only point at whicha surprise was possible, unless there existed some secret passage into thecastle. They had just finished their inspection of the walls, when therewas a shout from their look-out at the top of the castle.

  "A great number of men are coming down the valley," he cried to the thanesin the courtyard below, and they at once mounted to the battlements. A mileaway great numbers of men could be seen running at the top of their speed.There was neither order nor formation. Among them were a few horsemenriding in a knot together, and round these a number of the footmen wererunning in a close mass; but by far the greater proportion straggled acrossthe valley, some being a considerable distance behind the rest.

  "They are like a swarm of bees," Beorn said.

  "Yes, and are just as angry. Of course, the news of what has happened herewas sent off to them at once, and has brought them back again. I trust thatit reached them before they came upon Oswald's party."

  "They must have been on their return," Beorn said. "It was but two hoursago that we won the castle. Had a swift messenger started the moment thenews reached the village, and had he known exactly the position where hewould find Llewellyn, he could not have taken the news to him and broughtthem back here had they been some eight miles away. It must be farther thanthat to the spot where we lost Oswald, and as the thanes would surely bemaking their way either back to camp or eastward to the border, they musthave been many miles from here an hour since. We know that the Welsh levieswere summoned in the evening, and probably reached the spot where we weredeserted by the guide, before daybreak, and took up the search at once.Therefore I think, Wulf, there can be no doubt that the messenger from heremust have met them as they were returning; but whether they had overtakenand destroyed Oswald's command, or had failed in their search for them, wecannot tell."

  Wulf shook his head. "I fear the former is most likely. The Welsh here mustknow every foot of their mountains, so that by scattering through thevalleys they could scarcely fail to come upon the traces of Oswald'spassage, and they would pursue him as hotly as wolves chase a deer. My onlyhope is that Oswald may have established himself at daybreak this morningin some strong position, and fortified himself there, in hopes that wemight rejoin him, and that Llewellyn had not begun the attack upon it whenthe news reached him of the capture of his castle. How many, think you, arethere in that approaching throng?"

  "Some four or five thousand I should say."

  "Yes, quite five thousand, Beorn."

  At the call of the watchmen the men had, of their own accord, all mountedto the walls.

  "We had better divide our commands," Beorn said. "Your force is doublemine. For the present I will undertake the defence of the rear walls if youwill take the front. Of course till an attack actually commences it willnot be necessary to keep more than a strong guard on duty."

  "Certainly not," Wulf agreed. "The danger will be far greater at night thanby day, and we must give the men as much rest as possible. But I think thatyou with your men and half of mine ought to take the command in front,while I with the rest defend the rear."

  "Not at all, Wulf, this is your affair altogether. I should never havethought of trying to take the castle. It was your idea, and has beencarried out by you altogether. You are much fuller of plans than I am. Iwill do my best to second you, but you must continue to be the head in thematter."

  "Very well, Beorn. I refuse to be considered in command, but we willapportion our forces as you suggest. We will take care that at any rate theWelsh shall not capture the castle as rapidly as we did, and so will putfour men always on duty at each of the gates in the interior walls, so thatif by any chance they manage to effect an entrance into one of the yardsthey will be able to get no farther until our whole force can assemble tooppose them."